MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

R334 Still in a treacherous condition

By

Dear MyPE

The main provincial road between Motherwell and Colchester, the R334, is in dire need of repair, with certain areas so badly degraded that the road poses a serious risk to those travelling on it.

In response to a parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the MEC for Transport, Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe, in November 2019, stated that routine maintenance was continuously being done to this road, but based on its condition, this maintenance has been woefully inadequate.

Responding to a follow-up question, MEC Tikana-Gxothiwe revealed that the section of the R334 between Main Road and the intersection with DR01933, near the old Coega Hotel, is in a very poor condition and needs to be fully reconstructed, at an outrageous cost of R58,68 million, or roughly R12 million per kilometre.

The Eastern Cape is the highest-paying province when it comes to the construction of new roads and has one of the worst road infrastructure maintenance backlogs in the country.

The DA-led Kouga Municipality recently produced Africa’s first eco-friendly road, which incorporates waste plastic as part of the road construction.

Not only is this alternative solution good for the environment, by repurposing waste plastic that would otherwise end up in landfill or our oceans, but the road itself is much more durable and relatively maintenance free.

This was possible due to a public-private partnership model, which saw the municipality team up with private companies to deliver the proof of concept.

The Department would do well to consider such alternatives, as it would have huge cost savings implications over the long term.

I will continue advocating for public-private partnership models to be established in the Department of Roads and Transport, to enable them to deliver on much needed services as the Department is incapable of maintaining our road network.

The DA will continue fighting for a good and well-maintained road network that will allow citizens of this province the freedom of movement and an opportunity for our economy to thrive.

Regards

Marshall von Buchenroder, MPL
DA EC Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport

The following two tabs change content below.

Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.